Govt rebuts report questioning independence of Singapore courts
By Lau Joon-Mie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 July 2008 2329 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Singapore government has rebutted an international report questioning the independence of the country's judiciary system.
A statement from the Ministry of Law described as "absurd" a suggestion by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute - that honourable and upright judges in commercial cases become compliant and dishonourable when dealing with defamation cases involving government ministers.
In its first report on Singapore spanning 72 pages, the human rights arm of the International Bar Association expressed concern about judicial independence and the limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly and the media.
Among its 18 recommendations, the institute suggested that Singapore abolish criminal defamation as an offence, and that the government pass legislative limits on civil defamation pay-outs, particularly in cases initiated by government officials.
In response, the Law Ministry said the lawsuits brought by members of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) usually related to scurrilous and untrue allegations of corruption against them, and the decisions of the courts were matters of public record which could be analysed.
The ministry said instead of substantiating the allegation with evidence, the report's argument that "regardless of any actual interference, the reasonable suspicion of interference is sufficient" when it comes to cases involving PAP members or their associates, is a feeble justification.
Work on the institute's report began in preparation for the International Bar Association's annual conference in Singapore last October. While it had circulated a draft to the Singapore government in February, its final report failed to incorporate some of the Singapore government's comments made in April - thus prompting this latest response.
The Law Ministry said that whatever the government's shortcomings, the overall objective has been to get Singaporeans better educated and exposed to the globalised world. So the laws and systems are adjusted to maximise the global forces to make Singapore a thriving cosmopolitan city, where both locals and foreigners live and work in a peaceful, safe and open environment.
The ministry added that the government has listened carefully to all advice and decided on the right balance for its people, and so far, Singapore had not done badly.
When asked to comment on the report, Singapore's Law Minister K Shanmugam said the report had noted that Singapore's legal system is highly regarded for commercial matters. So he said that it is absurd to suggest that honourable and upright judges who decide on commercial matters are dishonourable or compliant when it comes to cases involving Singapore government leaders.
"We didn't run down our institutions; we developed them and made them world class. That didn't happen by accident... A group of people coming together to criticise our judiciary or some other institution cannot mask the fact that we are moving forward, that our judiciary and legal system are rated very highly," said the law minister. - CNA /ls
Just a casual poll.
How many of you think that our courts are independent in political cases involving the ruling P4P?
(A) Indepedent
(B) Bias.
For me it's (B).
They can rebut all they want, the despots.
they have much much more right to rebut than lionnoisy
Not the 1st time.... won't be the last time.....